A new report published this week by the Centre for Economic Performance (CEP) at the London School of Economics has reinforced the vital role of Greater Manchester’s Universities in supporting productivity, skills and inclusive growth.

The report, Hive of Talent: What Would It Take to Raise Skills and Productivity in Greater Manchester?, examines the city-region’s complex skills pipeline and the pathways through which Greater Manchester can grow and retain the skilled workforce needed to improve productivity and living standards.

It finds that Greater Manchester’s productivity before the pandemic was 35% below London’s. Reducing this gap to a level comparable with the difference between Paris and Lyon, France’s second city, would require a significant expansion of workers with degree and sub-degree qualifications, equivalent to around 180,000 people.

Addressing this challenge, the report argues, will require coordinated action across education, skills and the wider economic system. Importantly, the report references the collaborative framework provided by the Greater Manchester Civic University Board, which brings together the city-region’s universities with the Greater Manchester Combined Authority, as “an important mechanism for aligning higher education with local economic priorities.”

The findings reinforce the themes at the heart of the Greater Manchester Civic University Agreement’s refreshed priorities, which emphasise the importance of universities working in long‑term partnership with civic partners to support opportunity, prosperity and skills across the city‑region.

Co-author Henry Overman said: “Nowhere understands better than Manchester – one of the cradles of the industrial revolution and a world-leader in science research – that a city depends on the skills, talent and work of its people. Skills policy is key to improving living standards not only for those workers, but for the city – and country – as a whole. But attracting and retaining the skilled workers GM needs depends on improvements to jobs, housing, and transport that go beyond skills policy alone.”

The report was launched on 29 April as part of the National Productivity Week, during an event jointly hosted by The Productivity Institute, Alliance Manchester Business School and Unit M.

• Read the full report: Hive of Talent: What Would It Take to Raise Skills and Productivity in Greater Manchester? by Aadya Bahl and Henry Overman, Centre for Economic Performance, LSE.